Gallery: 10 things you didn't know about Elvis

Getty Images01.08.2013

HIS FIRST TV CONCERT WAS THE NO. 1 HIT OF THE YEAR. In Decmeber 1968, Elvis debuted on TV with a concert. The 'Comeback Concert' was the highest-rated TV show of the year and re-invigorated his sagging career by bringing a whole new audience to his music.

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HE WAS AN IDENTICAL TWIN. Elvis had an identical twin who was stillborn. In fact, the spelling of Elvis' middle name, Aron, came from his stillborn brother's middle name, Garon. When he was older, Elvis wished to officially change his name to the biblical and traditional spelling of Aaron, and was surprised to learn that even though he spelled it A-R-O-N his whole life, it was recorded on his birth certificate as A-A-R-O-N.Getty Images

HE STUDIED TO BE AN ELECTRICIAN. After high school, Elvis drove a truck for Crown Electric Company. He began taking courses to become an electrician. It didnt' last long as his music career soon bloomed.Getty Images

HE CAN STILL TOP THE CHARTS. As recently as 2005, 3 different re-issued singles topped the U.K. charts at #1, during the same month, no less. In January of that year, Jailhouse Rock, One Night / I Got Stung, and It's Now or Never topped the U.K. pop charts during the weeks on January 9th, 16th, and the 30th.Getty Images

HIS FIRST GUITAR CAME FROM A HARDWARE STORE. As a boy, Elvis wanted a bicycle from a hardware store in Tupelo, Mississippi. But instead, he ended up with a cheap hardware store guitar that started him on the path to mega-stardom.Getty Images

HE TOOK A GUN TO THE WHITE HOUSE. When Richard Nixon was president, Elvis met with him at the White House. Hoping to be appointed as a special agent, he had taken a World War II vintage handgun with him to give to the president. The gift was accepted by the staff, but was not presented to the president, for obvious security reasons.Getty Images

HE WAS BURIED TWICE. This has to do with attempted grave robbery at his original burial site and not the 'around town' Elvis sightings after his death in August 1977. He was initially buried next to his mother, Gladys, in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis and his mother were both re-interred at Graceland i October 1977 after several young men attempted to steal his body.Getty Images

THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 80,000 Elvis IMPERSONATORS. A recent magazine article estimated that there were more than 80,000 impersonators, or Elvis Tribute Artists, as many preferred to be called, in the world. That's 1,000 times more than the 80 or so that were performing when he died in 1977.Getty Images

THE KING ATTRACTED FAMOUS INTRUDERS TO GRACELAND. Although Graceland now attracts more than 700,000 guests, when Elvis was alive, gates kept the public out. However, one promising musician jumped the fence in hopes of meeting his idol. Securty caught the intruder before getting a chance to see the 'King'. The intruder's name -- Bruce Springsteen.
A more notorious visit was made by drucken rocker Jerry Lee Lewis who arrived at Graceland with a gun, demanding to see Elvis. Nothing became of it other than he was taken to jail.Getty Images

HE GAVE ONLY FIVE OFFICIAL CONCERTS OUTSIDE THE U.S. In 1957, Elvis gave a total of five concerts in three Canadian cities: two shows each in Toronto and Ottawa in April of 1957, and one in Vancouver in August of 1957. They were the only official concerts that was ever conducted outside of the U.S. In 1959, although not an official concert, he gave an impromptu performance while on leave from the U.S. Army in Paris.Getty Images

HE WAS THREATENED WITH ARREST FOR GYRATING. After a show in Jacksonville, Florida, in August 1956, Juvenile Court Judge Marion Gooding threatened to arrest Elvis if he didn't tone down his show. The judge had sat through the concert to see the singer's performance first-hand. Afterwards, he called Elvis in and warned him that he would only permit limited side-to-side movements for the rest of his shows in Jacksonville. He must have complied to limiting his wiggling as he was never arrested.Calgary Herald Archive

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